Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore struggled to give an answer Sunday on CNN as to why young men are walking away from his party.
With midterm elections around the corner, the Democratic Party has been attempting to regroup after losing key voting blocs they once had a strong hold on, including young male voters. On “State of the Union,” CNN host Dana Bash highlighted how President Donald Trump won over young men in November, asking if the governor believes there’s an issue with the party’s policies, message or both.
“Well, I think about the foundation for our race in the first place. It was young people. And a lot of it was young men, because I think we were speaking to them and not speaking at them,” Moore said.
“I think we were bringing them in. Because if you look at the data that we have about young men in our society, there is a fall off,” Moore added. “The level of suicide rate for young men has exploded. When you’re looking at the fact that the employment rate and the job participation numbers have not grown for young men in this country since 1964… ”
According to AP VoteCast, over half of male voters under 30 supported the president in November, a shift from 2020, when former President Joe Biden had won a similar share. While about 6 in 10 young white males voted for Trump, the president also pulled significant support from both Hispanic and black young men who had previously backed Democrats, according to the survey.
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Bash then jumped in, apologizing as she noted that while the governor had improved his support among young male voters at the state level, she asked if it was lacking for the party nationally.
“I think everybody needs to address the fact that if you look at the data and what happened, and the reason that we’ve really gotten here, is if you just look at the data. That 30, 40 years ago, there was a real fall off with young women and there was a big push, a policy push towards making sure that we’re directing more support towards our young women. Now what’s happened is a pendulum has swung,” Moore responded.
Moore urged viewers to “follow the data,” pointing to his state’s efforts to recruit more men into classrooms and health care while also providing second chances for those in the juvenile justice system.
“So I’m proud of the fact that Maryland is leading the charge on this, but I do want this to be a larger national conversation about what are we doing to bring young men back into the fold,” Moore said. “Because it’s not just about elections, it’s about the future of our society that we can solve this challenge.”
Since November, Democrats have struggled to rally behind a unifying message and leader. While some have suggested the party’s recent defeat is due to its policies, others have pointed to issues with its brand and messaging.
A CNN/SSRS poll released on March 16 showed Democrats’ favorability rating had dropped to a record low of 29%, a 20-point decline since January 2021.
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